A.M.E.C. Fall Economy Run IV November 1, 2009

[blownb310]

Love the creativity! That Martin is one very interesting ecomodder.

[tasdrouille]

When I woke up in my car Saturday morning I had a flash. We were parked in front of a Hannaford supermarket so I got out to buy some Glad Press'n Seal.



It's got thousands of uses, it's written on the box! I'm pretty sure they never imagined it being used on a car though.





It was actually pretty sticky all by itself, but we added some tape just to be sure. I'll eventually test it without tape to see how it holds up.

Chang's Kammback


Even the mirror got its boattail!


Bruce's beautiful Saab


I was a bit disappointed by my results, especially since I did a bit more to the car and I drove slower than the previous event. On the other hand, my coolant temp was only 100 F when I started the run and it took almost 10 miles to get it up to 180 F. Also, I'm wondering if the station had switched over to winterized diesel fuel. There can be up to a 15% difference in BTU content between summer straight D2 and the winter blend to prevent gelling.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun seeing everyone again and I'm glad I participated in this event. I'm looking forward to the GGP next year.

[blownb310]

Excellent pics and text, thanks Martin.

It's also interesting to know that [although it is invisible from the outside] Bruce's Saab came from the factory with an adjustable grill block! Yes, in inclement weather you can close off some or all of the grill to keep water off of the distributor on a 93B.

[blownb310]

I just got an e-mail from Jeff Dungen with the Toyota Levin. The 20 valve engine in his Levin is actually only a 1.6, not a 2.0!

I saw the "20" on his fender and thought it meant 2.0 liter.

Wow, 170 h.p. and 50 mpg is really awesome.

And it all came from driving techniques as his tire pressures were only 34 psi.

Jeff also forwarded me this picture he took of the gas pump reading from Chang's refill after 107.5 miles....

[Wonderboy]

On the other hand, my coolant temp was only 100 F when I started the run and it took almost 10 miles to get it up to 180 F.

This may be part of why my number this time wasn't as far below last time - Just before setting off on the run, I ran my car couple miles so that I had a coolant temp of about 160 when I started. However, I don't think 10 miles accounts for the entire drop that nearly everyone suffered.

I noticed that the press 'n seal left a residue that doesn't come off very easily - may be because it got some heat from the engine.

[oldboatski]

Just a quick note of to let everyone know how much we enjoyed the ride. I was happy with my results but can see I have a lot of room for improvement. I am going to work some stealth aerodynamics for day to day and will have to give the pulse and glide a try. I am not sure how to break it to the dogs that they cant go for a ride.
Great fun and very educational
Dan

[blownb310]

Originally Posted by oldboatski

Just a quick note of to let everyone know how much we enjoyed the ride.

Welcome to the forums Dan.

It was great to have you and the family come out and join us. We're really glad you enjoyed the event and especially that you'll be back for more. You'll see big gains from the pulse and glide.

Mike Kamm
A.M.E.C.

[RobertSmalls]

I'm very glad I decided to attend. I had a good time, and I got to know my Insight. We introduced some of the more race-oriented AMEC members to hypermiling, and I gave someone a piece of coroplast to play with.

I think most of us were suprised how low the MPGs were. Nobody posted triple digits this time. Just like Hobbit's Prius, my Insight got only 25% better gas mileage than an Insight on the old EPA Highway cycle (88.5 instead of 70mpg for me, 63.9 instead of 51 for Hobbit).

I had a hearty laugh when we all came to a red light at the end of an uphill onramp near the end of the course. It was totally quiet, because my engine was in Auto Stop and nobody else's was running. The light turned green, and you heard three or four starter motors turning, then each of the cars rolled backward a little when they took off, because everyone had a stick shift. Why isn't a scene like that commonplace?

I came up with a list of mods that I need to have for next time: engine kill switch, hot air intake, full engine bay undertray, streamlined tail extensions. I actually left the engine idling whenever I was coasting in neutral, which used about 0.20 gal of gas. Running on brand-new tires also carries a rolling resistance penalty. I also hauled around some tools and extra fluids, a floor mat, a full interior, and one of my winter tires for a spare.

I snapped this picture at the halfway point.



Although my battery says it's at ~60% state of charge, it's more like 10%. My battery is sick. There were a few times where I had to use the friction brakes because the battery wouldn't accept a charge.

I'm looking forward to next year's Green Grand Prix. Maybe I'll show up there prepared with a well-modded, lightened Insight.

[blownb310]

So let's hear some comments on the course itself. I chose gently rolling hills and avoided anything with steep climbs and/or long uphill grades. I'd love to see an elevation chart like Tom Moeller generated with his gps last year.

[Wonderboy]

Here's the elevation map of the route. Pretty cool google maps overlay web program.